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Thursday, March 15, 2012

Edward Warren, 23, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: His dad lies comatose in a NH hospital, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara.

Cara, 17, still holds a grudge against her brother, since his departure led to her parents’ divorce. In the aftermath, she’s lived with her father – an animal conservationist who became famous after living with a wild wolf pack in the Canadian wild. It is impossible for her to reconcile the still, broken man in the hospital bed with her vibrant, dynamic father.

With Luke’s chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father’s organs. Is he motivated by altruism, or revenge? And to what lengths will his sister go to stop him from making an irrevocable decision?

LONE WOLF looks at the intersection between medical science and moral choices. If we can keep people who have no hope for recovery alive artificially, should they also be allowed to die artificially? Does the potential to save someone else’s life with a donated organ balance the act of hastening another’s death? And finally, when a father’s life hangs in the balance, which sibling should get to decide his fate?

PRAISE FOR LONE WOLF:

Picoult’s well-developed characters, compelling story and authentic prose create a novel that many will undoubtedly call her best yet — which it just may be.”— Newark Star Ledger

“Picoult returns with two provocative questions: can a human join a wolf pack, and who has the right to make end-of-life decisions? ... Picoult as usual probes intriguing matters of the heart while introducing her fans to subjects they might not otherwise explore. You can always count on Picoult for a terrific page-turner about a compelling subject.”— Publishers Weekly

“Jodi Picoult is a master of building a compelling story around a controversial issue… Fans won't be disappointed.”—Vancouver Sun

“ Picoult runs with the wolves in her compelling latest, a blend of interspecies friendship and searing family crisis… The story also incorporates fascinating research about wolf packs as model domestic units. Does the family that howls together stay together? This page-turner will keep you wondering.”— PEOPLE magazine 3.5/4 stars

“Picoult’s impressive research into wolf biology, hierarchy and pack mentality ultimately forms a plausible and highly informative story. …. Picoult portrays the human world and its petty paperwork as significantly less dignified (then wolves). This is a heartbreaking story told in engaging prose.”— IMAGE Magazine

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

JODI PICOULT is the author of eighteen novels, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers House Rules, Handle With Care, Change of Heart, Nineteen Minutes, and My Sister’s Keeper. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children. Visit her website at www.jodipicoult.com and also read more on her "bio" at her website HERE.

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

Most of Jodi Picoult’s novels center around an important social issue and her latest best seller, LONE WOLF, is no exception. Having written about everything from teenage suicide to gay rights, I think HOUSE RULES about Asperger’s Syndrome was my favorite so far. Now in LONE WOLF, Picoult tackles the issue of whether or not to keep a loved one alive on life support. She delves into who has the right to make this final decision and weaves her story around Luke Warren, a man who has been accepted by a pack of wolves through his extensive studies and work. Luke, whose chapters are told through the well researched information on wolves, has been in an accident and has a traumatic brain injury and is only alive due to his life support.

LONE WOLF is told through Jodi Picoult’s trademark characters that are easy to relate to while still being flawed. Changing chapters according to each character’s point of view moves the story along while it brings the reader into each of their emotionally charged lives. Cara is Luke’s 17-year-old daughter who has lived with him ever since her mother, Georgie, remarried and started a new family with Joe Ng. Joe is a lawyer who actually winds up as the defense attorney for Cara’s older brother Edward. Edward was in Thailand teaching when he is called home following his father Luke’s accident.

The compelling story is told so well through these characters and I do think the “breaks” when Luke’s chapters tell about the wolf pack are vital to the story. It isn’t until near the end when I gasped out loud that I saw just how important the wolf pack chapters were. As Cara and Luke disagree about what will be done about their father, the story unfolds with so many layers that the reader becomes seriously invested in each of these people. We learn about what really caused Edward to leave home suddenly years ago, which according to Cara was the start of her parents marriage problems ending in divorce. We also learn what Cara’s real part in the accident was that has Luke now in ICU on life support. How the story ends and where it takes the readers is pure Picoult. You won’t be disappointed and will be eager to find others to discuss the twists and turns in the novel. A great book for a book club discussion, Picoult shows how different people’s beliefs are when it comes to the right to die, as well as how tragically they react in such a situation.

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO DAVID AND THE FINE

PEOPLE AT SIMON AND SCHUSTER

I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS NEWLY

RELEASED, BEST SELLING JODI PICOULT

BOOK, LONE WOLF, TO GIVE AWAY

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comments:

I would love to read this book. What a very hard decision that would be to make. (Which is why everyone should have their wishes in writing, so no one has else has to make it) I have enjoyed reading her books in the past, and I do agree that she would address this issue very well.twoofakind12@yahoo.com

As we go on this journey called life we inevitable come to a cross road where we have to make decisions and I agree with Debbie that a written plan is the the best way to approach these "hard to make" decisions. I also have found Jodi Picoult novels to be fantastic books into the gray areas of society and she handles these areas with finesse. I am very interested in "Lone Wolf." Thanks for the opportunity.

Most of Jodi Picoult’s novels center around an important social issue and this one is an important one for me. I just lost my cousin who was 54 years old. She had a rare disease and was in s wheelchair since she was a teenager. As she got older(which the doctors said she would not live through her 20s), she lose her ability to talk and then to eat except through a turkey baster. She donated her body to science, so that they could possibly find out a cure to help future generations. What an amazing person she was! She's running with the angels now!Thanks!Rebeccarbooth43(at)yahoo(dot)com

Jodi Picoult's website is just so cool! My favorite part is the "Take A Peek" section where you get the chance to read a little of her upcoming book...which gets me in the mood to read more!candc320@gmail.com

I love how Jodi Picoult always picks topics that press against your comfort zones and what you think you believe about a topic. I find myself feeling very strongly about the subject of the book when I begin reading and then finding my resolve weaken and sometimes change as the characters present their cases and you begin to feel for all of them. She is just so talented!candc320@gmail.com

Many years ago, the doctors asked both me and my step mother the same question that is asked in this book. My father had had a terrible stroke and was in a coma.She and I decided differently and then later she changed her mind. She never forgave me for my decision. I knew my father so throughly that I am sure that he would have chosen the same way for me if I was in his position. That was so long ago when living will were unheard of. But even now, people die without them and the decision still has to be made. Unfortunately, it has to made at the same time that you are grieving.

I love to read this book. I think alot of people have to make this decision everyday. It is very hard decision. There is no right or wrong decision. Becuase you just don't know what will happen. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com

Many families have been left to decide if they should pull the plug or hold off a while longer. This is a subject that I would like to read about and I know Jodi's book will be very good.Thanks for opportunity to enter.

I am a big fan of Jodi. I still remmeber the first day I read sister's keeper and the tenth circle. I am very intrigued in her take of Asperger's, and I am sure it will be another poignant novel. I hope I'll win!